Bill Decker
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamHarvard
ConferenceIvy League
Record164–216 (.432)
Playing career
Football
1980–1984Ithaca
Baseball
?Ithaca
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1999Trinity (CT)
Baseball
1989Wesleyan (assistant)
1990Macalester
1991–2012Trinity (CT)
2013–presentHarvard
Head coaching record
Overall5–3 (.625) (football)
701–473 (.597) (baseball)
TournamentsBaseball
25–18 (NCAA D-III)
19–8 (NESCAC)
0–2 (NCAA D-I)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • 5× NESCAC East (2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012)
  • 4× NESCAC Tournament (2003, 2008, 2009, 2012)
  • Ivy League (2019)
  • Ivy League Series (2019)
Awards
  • Ivy League Coach of the Year (2019)

Bill Decker in an American college baseball coach, currently serving as head coach of the Harvard Crimson baseball program. He was named to that position prior to the 2013 season.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Playing career

Decker played baseball and football for Ithaca. His baseball career ended prematurely due to injury, but Decker served as captain of the football team in his senior season. Decker was a defensive end for the Bombers football team.[1][2]

Coaching career

Decker's coaching career began with a single season each at Deerfield Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy in assistant coaching roles. He then moved to the college level at Wesleyan for a single season before earning his first head coaching position at Minnesota's Macalester. After one season and an 8–26 record, he moved to Trinity in Hartford, Connecticut. In his second season, the Bantams reached the ECAC semifinals. In 1998, Trinity made its first of nine appearances in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. The Bantams reached the College World Series in 2003, 2005, and 2008, winning the national championship in 2008. In his tenure, the Bantams recorded 529 wins and 231 losses, for a winning percentage of .696, including a 45–1 record in 2008. Decker earned many coach of the year awards, including the American Baseball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 2008. After the 2012 season and another NCAA tournament appearance, Decker was hired to replace the deceased Joe Walsh at Harvard.[1][2][8]

Head coaching record

Football

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Trinity Bantams (New England Small College Athletic Conference) (1998)
1999 Trinity 5–3 5–3 T–3rd
Trinity: 5–3 5–3
Total: 5–3

Baseball

This table shows Decker's record as a collegiate head baseball coach.[9]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Macalester Scots (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1990)
1990 Macalaster 8–26 4–16 T–10th
Macalaster: 8–26 (.235) 4–16 (.200)
Trinity Bantams (Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1991–1994)
1991 Trinity 14–9 11–8
1992 Trinity 19–9 17–5
1993 Trinity 12–8
1994 Trinity 18–13
Trinity Bantams (NCAA Division III independent) (1995–1999)
1995 Trinity 21–12
1996 Trinity 19–15
1997 Trinity 17–13
1998 Trinity 23–11 NCAA Regional
1999 Trinity 25–11 NCAA Regional
Trinity Bantams (New England Small College Athletic Conference) (2000–2012)
2000 Trinity 22–9 7–3 NCAA Regional
2001 Trinity 25–10 9–3 2nd (East) NESCAC Tournament
2002 Trinity 26–10 8–4 2nd (East) NESCAC Tournament
2003 Trinity 27–12 9–3 T–1st (East) College World Series
2004 Trinity 27–9 10–2 1st (East) NESCAC Tournament
2005 Trinity 35–9 10–2 T–1st (East) College World Series
2006 Trinity 17–18 6–6 3rd (East)
2007 Trinity 30–8 8–4 3rd (East) NCAA Regional
2008 Trinity 45–1 12–0 1st (East) National Champions
2009 Trinity 33–7 12–0 1st (East) College World Series
2010 Trinity 19–11 6–6 T–2nd (East)
2011 Trinity 21–15 5–7 T–3rd (East)
2012 Trinity 34–11 10–2 1st (East) NCAA Regional
Trinity: 529–231 (.696) 140–55 (.718)
Harvard Crimson (Ivy League) (2013–present)
2013 Harvard 10–30 7–13 3rd (Rolfe)
2014 Harvard 11–28 5–15 4th (Rolfe)
2015 Harvard 18–24 7–13 2nd (Rolfe)
2016 Harvard 17–24 9–11 T–3rd (Rolfe)
2017 Harvard 19–23 7–13 3rd (Rolfe)
2018 Harvard 22–20 12–9 4th
2019 Harvard 27–16 14–7 1st NCAA Regional
2020 Harvard 1–5 0–0 Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Harvard 0–0 0–0 Ivy League opted-out of the season
2022 Harvard 19–22 10–11 T-4th
2023 Harvard 20–24 15–6 2nd
2024 Harvard 1–7 0–0
Harvard: 165–223 (.425) 86–98 (.467)
Total: 702–480 (.594)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Bill Decker". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Bill Decker". Trinity College. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  3. ^ Mike Anthony (September 26, 2012). "Trinity Baseball Coach Bill Decker To Leave For Harvard". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  4. ^ Craig Larson (September 27, 2012). "Harvard picks Bill Decker as new baseball coach". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  5. ^ "Bill Decker named new head baseball coach at Harvard". New England Baseball News. September 25, 2012. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  6. ^ Nancy Kercheval (September 27, 2012). "Bill Decker Leaves Trinity to Become Baseball Coach at Harvard". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  7. ^ "Bill Decker is new Harvard coach". ESPN. September 26, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  8. ^ Alan Schwarz (April 22, 2008). "In Sport Filled With Flaws, a Chase for Perfection". The New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  9. ^ "NCAA Database". NCAA.org. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
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